


friday nights at sally's

by eunseo



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary Lafayette, gwash burr and jefferson are mentioned, martha appears very briefly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-02-21
Packaged: 2018-05-22 11:23:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6077532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eunseo/pseuds/eunseo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>”it’s 2am and i’m drunk and i need some goddamn french fries right now so open your fucking door" au</p>
            </blockquote>





	friday nights at sally's

**Author's Note:**

> this fic is definitely longer than i originally thought it would be. thanks to cass for being a rad beta ily
> 
> tumblr: anakens / twitter: lrstxt

John has known Alexander, Lafayette, and Mulligan since he was in high school. It's because of this that when he's drunk on a Friday night (or Saturday morning, depending on who you ask), his first thought is to head to Alex's dorm room after Lafayette and Mulligan head back to their respective dorms. John lives a floor above Alex so he has no problem getting into the student's residence building. It takes him longer than usual to find the elevator because he takes two wrong turns and by the time he finds it, ten minutes have passed since he walked in. As he's walking from the elevator to Alex's room, he smells french fries and suddenly he's not so interested in watching Netflix with Alex as he is in making the trek back outside, preferably with Alex, and walking to the 24-hour diner two blocks away from campus for the best french fries he's ever had.

By this point, he's in front of Alex's room and in his excitement at the thought of french fries, he knocks louder than he meant to. A moment later, Alexander opens the door with a confused expression on his face that quickly turns amused at the sight of John, drunk and flushed, on his doorstep.

“We have to go to Sally's,” John says, his words slightly slurred.

“Why's that?”

“Fries, Ham, we need fries. You love the fries, and... They're _so good_ , we have to get fries,” John says leaning forward. Alex raises an eyebrow. “Please,” he adds as an afterthought.

At the pleading expression on John's face, Alex laughs. He spares a thought to the essay he was writing, but his stomach helpfully reminds him that he hasn't eaten in 18 hours. “Couldn't Lafayette go with you, or Mulligan, since you know, you were already with them?” he asks, even as he's pulling on a pair of sneakers. John wonders how he knows that, then vaguely remembers sending him a video of Mulligan and Lafayette playing some drinking game.

“But Lafayette has a meeting with Washington in the morning, and Mulligan has that internship,” John whines. “And you were awake anyway.”

“How did you even know I was awake?” Alex challenges, shutting the door to his room behind him and putting his arm around John's waist, smiling fondly when John leans into his side.

“When aren't you awake?” John mumbles, and Alex chuckles.

It's 2:40 by the time they reach the diner and John is still pressed against Alex's side.

Alex orders a burger, fries, and a milkshake (the fries are at John's insistence). John orders the same except he almost orders a beer because they never card at Sally's before Alex tells the waitress that _he'll just have a milkshake, really_. It's not that Alex has anything against drinking, but John gets either sleepy and/or handsy when he's drunk which makes it hard to carry him to his dorm when he's pretty tired himself, and especially not when John is surreptitiously slipping his hand underneath his shirt.

While they wait, Alex makes John drink the water that the waitress set down for them, and John starts telling him about his night.

“...and I was just about to punch Jefferson in his stupid, smug face...” At this, Alex bursts out laughing. The waitress arrived with their food, putting it on their table as John continued. “...but _Burr_ had to go and play peacemaker as if Jefferson didn't deserve it!”

It's only when Alex looks up at the waitress and says thank you that John realizes there's food in front of him. He smiles at the waitress and thanks her before digging in.

  


After that night, spending Friday nights at Sally’s becomes a tradition of sorts. Alex and John, usually with Lafayette, Mulligan, and Eliza in tow, head there almost every week. They try to go at midnight as opposed to two in the morning so Mulligan, who interns at a fashion company Saturday mornings, can accompany them. One of the bonuses of going is that they all have an excuse to drag Alex out of his room and ensure that he has at least one full meal that day. The waitresses and owner know the four of them (and Eliza) by name and sometimes give them free milkshakes or fries for the table no matter how hard they all protest. On these occasions, they add the cost of whatever free food they were given to their already generous tip.

  


It's at one of the diner nights that John comes out to Alex, Lafayette, and Mulligan. Despite the fact that he's known the three of them since they were all in high school, he was always afraid of his very homophobic parents finding out somehow. Now, he's brave enough, and not so dependent on his parents' money, that he's ready to tell them. He waits until he has a milkshake in front of him and fiddles with the straw. After a moment, his friends notice how fidgety he is and they quiet down, waiting for him to speak.

“I, uh,” John starts, looking up before his eyes focus on the milkshake in front of him. “I wanna tell you all something.”

They look at him patiently and John thinks he sees Lafayette nod at him encouragingly. He's not sure why he's so nervous, all of a sudden. He knows it won't change anything; Alex is very open about being bisexual, and Lafayette has had relations with people of various genders. Still, his hands are shaking and he wonders if it's because he's never said it out loud before.

“I'm... I'm gay,” he says quietly.

He doesn't see what their reactions are, still refusing to look away from his milkshake. He feels someone tap his hand softly.

From across the booth, Lafayette and Hamilton are smiling at him. Mulligan, sitting next to him, puts his arm around him.

“Thank you for telling us,” Lafayette says. Alex nudges his foot and opens his mouth, most likely on his way to give a very sentimental, and very long-winded speech about how he's proud of John when the rest of their food arrives, and the moment is broken.

  


Life goes on as normal until midterms. This is not altogether unsurprising, considering that on their first semester, Mulligan drank so much coffee that he claimed he could hear colors. Alex became a permanent resident at the library and upon returning to his dorm room, he slept for 17 consecutive hours. Lafayette was so sleep deprived that they gave one of their presentations completely in French without realizing it, and John fell asleep on the train. For ten hours.

All in all, not their best moments.

Like the first time, Alex once again lives in the library and John somehow manages to make it through with only two all-nighters and two almost-but-not-quite-all-nighters. By the end of it, he's exhausted. Apparently, so is Alex because instead of going to his own dorm room, he ends up in John's room and is asleep on his bed before John can even get two words out. It's only eight but John has nothing more to do for the day and he has an early class the next day, so he simply makes Alex scoot over and falls asleep beside him.

When he wakes up, he's late for class and Alex is still asleep, though instead of being _next to_ John like he was when John fell asleep, he is now half-laying on the bed and half-laying on John. John can already feel his cheeks heating up but he _really_ doesn't have the time to think about it if he wants to make it to class, so he moves out of bed slowly as to not disturb his friend. He quickly gets ready for class and writes a note to Alex to let him know where he is.

John almost falls asleep during the lecture along with Lafayette. He somehow stays awake for the whole class, or at least most of it, by doodling in the margins of his notebook and when class ends he goes back to his room to find Alex still asleep on his bed. It takes all of thirty seconds for John to decide to join him since he has no more classes on Friday and he deserves a nap after the disaster that was midterm season. He only bothers to take off his jacket before he lays down next to Alex like he did last night, except Alex moves closer and throws an arm over John's chest. At this point, John is almost too tired to dwell on it.

Almost.

John has had a crush on Alex since their junior year of high school and the fact that Alex is now _cuddling_ with him, even if he's asleep, is more than enough for John's cheeks to redden and his heart rate to increase. Still, he _is_ tired so he panics for all of 20 minutes before his exhaustion gets the better of him and he falls asleep.

When he wakes up, Alex is no longer sleeping. He's typing away on his laptop and doesn't notice John is awake until John sits up and stretches.

“How long you been awake?” He asks after yawning.

“Not long. I went down to my room for some clothes and my laptop. I can't believe you let me sleep for so long,” he mumbles in response.

“It's not like you didn't need it,” John laughs and ruffles Alex's hair. Alex ducks his head, but John still catches his smile.

“So I guess you're staying for a bit?” He asks, nodding towards Alex's bookbag where a shirt is peeking out from one of the larger pockets.

“Yeah, Burr's being a pain in the ass,” he replies, still focused on his laptop.

“Really? That's weird, he's always so _agreeable_ ,” John jokes and is rewarded with a snort from Alex.

John heads off to shower and checks the time. He was asleep for another two hours but he shrugs it off. After the week he had, he deserved that nap.

He takes his time in the shower and washes his hair knowing that Alex won't mind if he takes a long time since he's working on some assignment or other.

Alex is still working on his laptop when he comes out of the bathroom. He's searching for his clothes, a towel tied around his waist, and doesn't notice when Alex accidentally looks up and stares at him (which Alex is secretly glad for. He's not sure how his best friend would feel about being ogled by him).

He's changed into his sweatpants when he turns around, still shirtless.

“Hey, Alex, have you seen my... nevermind,” he says, noticing that Alex is wearing his favorite hoodie. He tries not to look too pleased by this.

“Oh, sorry, did you want-?”

“Nah, it's fine,” John replies, barely restraining himself from saying something too revealing like ' _it looks good on you'_ or ' _I like when you wear my clothes_ '. He pulls on a sweatshirt he finds slung over his desk chair which could possibly belong to Lafayette or maybe it was his initially? He's not sure anymore. The three of them all wear each other's clothing. It's why John always buys sweatshirts that are slightly too big on him but fit Lafayette just fine and are definitely too big on Alex, who still insists on wearing them). He grabs a random book from his bookshelf and lays down on the bed next to Alex, who looks down and smiles at him briefly before going back to his laptop.

“We're going to Sally's at eight tonight since Mulligan and Eliza are both sleep deprived so they wanna go early. I'll let you know when it's 7:40,” John says, opening the book to the beginning.

“Alright,” Alex responds.

They work for a few hours in silence. John is curled up next to Alex, who occasionally runs his fingers through John's hair and John's heart flutters at the domesticity of it all.

At 7:40, John gets up and ties his hair in a ponytail. He nudges Alex slightly so he'll know it's time to go to the diner and Alex hums distractedly, as John expected he would.

“Alexander,” he chides softly, already knowing that Alex would ask for a few more minutes. It's why he called him to attention at 7:40 instead of 7:50 in the first place.

“Ten more minutes, I just need to finish up, I swear,” Alex says, looking up.

Ten minutes later, John runs his fingers through Alex's hair and tries not to smile when Alex grumbles at him.

“It's 7:50.”

“I just need a few-”

“Alexander,” he chides him again. “You haven't seen your friends in a week and you don't have any big assignments due until after next week, I think you can take a break.”

Alex hesitates some more before nodding. Still, he grabs a notebook from his backpack and carries it with him as they walk outside.

Their meeting at the diner is quieter than their usual boisterous affairs since Mulligan and Eliza are practically asleep next to each other. Alex is writing in his notebook on John's right and John is talking quietly with Lafayette on his left, who isn't doing much better than Mulligan and Eliza.

The waitress, Martha, takes one look at the group and shakes her head.

“Y'all should take better care of yourselves,” she says, chastising them softly as she lays their food out. “Get some food in you, and then I'm kicking you out so you all can get some sleep,” she looks pointedly at Eliza and Mulligan.

“Yes, ma'am,” Mulligan smiles and does a mock salute as Eliza smiles abashedly.

“And you three,” she says, looking at Lafayette, Alex, and John. “How are you all doing?”

“For once, _le petit lion_ is the only one of us who's well rested,” Lafayette says, chuckling fondly.

“So is Laurens, the traitor,” Mulligan says, grinning at him from across the booth.

“I think someone had a sleepover without us,” Lafayette comments, reaching behind John to ruffle Alex's hair. He looks up distractedly when his friends laugh.

“What happened?”

“We're talking about how John is your favorite,” Eliza supplies, still chuckling.

“I... What?” He replies, closing the notebook in front of him and reaching for his burger.

“They're talking about the fact that we're the only ones who aren't falling asleep,” John says instead. “And for the record, Alex just showed up and we fell asleep.”

“Boo,” Lafayette whines, cutting off a corner of their napkin and leaning forward to throw it at Alex. “At least pretend like you did something interesting!”

“Well, if we'd done something _interesting,_ I assure you, we wouldn't be nearly as well-rested.” The way Alex says interesting gives everyone a good idea of what he meant and John's pretty sure his face has never blushed this intensely before.

“That's what I like to hear!” Mulligan says, laughing loudly, and Lafayette and Eliza join in.

They're all more awake after that, but Martha still kicks them out, telling them to go to sleep for once.

 

The next day, John wakes up to the sound of the clicking of keys on a laptop and sighs.

“Did you sleep at all?” John questions, his eyes still closed. He remembers going to bed at around midnight, falling asleep to the same sounds he woke up to.

“I slept enough.”

“And how much is enough?”

“John.” Alex says in a curt voice and John sighs again.

“I just wish you'd take better care of yourself,” he replies, getting up and going to the bathroom. He has a private room which he's thankful for because it means he doesn't need to wait in line just to shower if he wakes up ten minutes too late. It also means that he has some privacy, unlike Alex, Eliza, and Mulligan who have roommates. He showers and changes in the bathroom and when he goes back into the main room, Alex looks up.

“I'm gonna go see Lafayette,” John says, grabbing his jacket.

“Wait, Laurens. I'm... I'm sorry. For snapping at you,” John raises an eyebrow at his friend. “I just wish you'd stop treating me like I need to be taken care of. I've been taking care of myself my whole life, I don't need anyone else to do it for me.”

John nods. “I'm sorry for making you feel like I was babying you.”

“Apology accepted,” Alex says, grinning. John can't help the way his lips curl into a smile in response.

“I'm gonna go see Lafayette, now.”

“Alright. We could watch a movie after you get back? I know you've been wanting to watch Milk.”

“That sounds good,” John steps forward to kiss Alex's forehead unthinkingly before walking to the door. “I'll be back in a few hours.” He desperately hopes Alex dismisses the action as John being glad their small spat was over, and he leaves too quickly to see Alex smirking.

  


Lafayette looks up from their phone as John approaches and smiles at him from where they're sitting on a couch in Washington's office. Usually, Washington's office is only opens to students during his office hours, but since he favors Lafayette, John, and Alex quite a lot, they're allowed to come and go as they please.

“Hey, Laf.”

“Is something wrong, _amour_? You look distracted,” Lafayette comments, looking concerned.

“Alex and I had an... argument? A tiny argument,” he says, and Lafayette looks even more worried. “We made up almost immediately after, we're fine,” he continues hurriedly. “But...”

“But...?”

“I... kissed his forehead...” Lafayette makes a valiant attempt at containing their laughter, but fails completely.

“ _Mon dieu,_ I was not expecting that,” they reply, still giggling slightly. “What did our _petit lion_ say to that?”

“I, sort of, left. Right after.”

“Oh, my Laurens _,_ only you,” they remark fondly. “When are you going to tell him you have feelings for him?”

John's never told Lafayette, or anyone for that matter, about being in love with Alex. Still, he's not surprised that Lafayette has figured it out. “I've gone three years without telling him, I'm sure I can go for a few more.”

“I think you should tell him. You may be surprised.”

“Why would you say that?”

“You are afraid of rejection, _non_?” John nods. “Well, I've seen the way Alexander looks at you and I've heard how he speaks of you. He loves you, as a friend and as more than that.”

“But if he did, wouldn't he have expressed his feelings already? Alex has exactly no impulse control. _We're_ his impulse control.”

“Remember that you only recently told us that you're gay,” Lafayette says. “Perhaps he was afraid of rejection, too.”

“But I told you like three weeks ago,” John says, still unsure.

“Alex may be the most impulsive person in the planet, but he is not one to... erm, what's the phrase? Half-ass?” John nods again. “He is not one to half-ass anything. It could be that he wanted to be sure you returned his feelings before telling you.”

“I guess you're right.”

“When am I not?”

He stays with Lafayette in Washington's office until noon, at which point they go to the school cafeteria and get lunch. It's not until five that John texts Alex he's heading back.

 

From: Hamilton

5:05PM

alright text me if you get back before i do

  


To: Hamilton

5:07PM

Okay. Where are you?

  


From: Hamilton

5:08PM

you'll see

  


From: Hamilton

5:08PM

:D

  


To: Hamilton

5:10PM

Oh my god

  


To: Hamilton

5:10PM

What did you do?

  


To: Hamilton

5:11PM

Do I need to call Lafayette?

  


To: Hamilton

5:11PM

Also, I'm home.

  


From: Hamilton

5:12PM

omg i didn't do anything

  


From: Hamilton

5:12PM

you have so little faith in me

  


To: Hamilton

5:13PM

Last time you said :D, you came back with a broken nose.

  


From: Hamilton

5:14PM

that was ONE TIME

  


To: Hamilton

5:15PM

The time before that, you had a cut on your lip and a black eye.

  


From: Hamilton

5:16PM

ok two times

  


To: Hamilton

5:17PM

The time before THAT, you had a nosebleed and we had to throw your shirt out because of the blood stains.

  


From: Hamilton

5:18PM

okay FINE but i didn't do anything bad i promise

  


To: Hamilton

5:20PM

If you come back and you're bleeding, I won't even be gentle with the antiseptic.

  


From: Hamilton

5:21PM

you're a monster

  


From: Hamilton

5:22PM

btw i'll be there in a bit

  


When Alex comes back, John is pleased to see that instead of a black eye, Alex has pizza and is wearing his hoodie again.

“This might be the first time that smiley face actually meant what it's supposed to,” John said jokingly, opening the first box.

“What do I get for using said emoji for its intended purposes?” Alex says smirking.

“You get first pick on what movie we're watching,” John says, already eating a slice of pizza.

“That's all? I thought you'd be a little more proud of me,” Alex laughs but John thinks there's a little uncertainty in his voice. He realizes quickly what Alex wants from him, so clearly Alex wasn’t letting go of what happened that morning.

Well. John can play this game.

“You know I'm always proud of you,” he tells Alex and feels triumphant when Alex flushes.

“I... Well, I... Thank you.”

“And you got me pizza,” he continues, taking a step toward Alex. “You don't even like pepperoni all that much, and yet,” he takes another step and Alex's smile has him moving forward until he's directly in front of Alex before he's even gathered his thoughts. “You got pepperoni.”

“It's your favorite.”

“That's true. It's not yours, though.”

Before Alex can say anything else, he's leaning forward until he's pressing his lips softly to Alex's forehead. When he pulls back, Alex looks torn between being annoyed or pleased and he almost laughs. Instead, he tucks a strand of Alex's hair behind his ear.

“Thank you for the pizza.”

They watch two movies and eat the rest of the pizza, and the entire time Alex's head is resting on John's shoulder.

 

It's a little strange being around Alex after that. Nothing _really_ changes in their dynamic, except that they're both just a tad touchier than usual. Still, their interactions feel charged like there's something _else_ besides the love they have for each other as friends. There _is_ , and his feelings are definitely returned, but truthfully, John has absolutely no way of knowing how deep and sincere Alexander really is about them being together. He was too afraid to be in a relationship when he was in high school because he was constantly worried about his parents finding out about his sexuality, and he's never really been interested in anyone since Alex walked into his life.

He's a bit disappointed that Alex seems perfectly content with the added _else-ness_ in their friendship and makes no move to make the step that John is too unsure to make; he thinks they’ll be in this limbo forever.

 

Since they live on campus all year round, John goes to lunch with Lafayette and Mulligan right after finals. When he returns, he finds that Alex fell asleep on his bed again. His laptop is still open beside him and John closes it and covers him with a blanket. John takes off his jacket, sits in his beanbag chair and picks up his sketchbook, sketching Lafayette carelessly. By the time Alex wakes up, it's almost a complete drawing and John has half a mind to give it to Lafayette as a present.

“John? Shit, how long was I asleep? What time is it?”

“It's six,” John says, closing the sketchbook. “You alright?”

“Oh okay, that's good. I'm alright,” Alex replies distractedly. “Wait, no, I want to ask you something.” He moves away from the bed and sits in front of John.

“What is it?”

“Do you want to go on a date with me?”

John smiles brightly at him and kisses his forehead.

“Of course I do.”

Now, Alex seems incapable of holding in his excitement and reaches for John's hand, standing up quickly and taking John with him.

“Great! How does right now sound?”

“Right n- hold on, can I change first? I didn't think you meant _right this second_ ,” John says, nervous. It's not that he's wearing anything that looks bad. He hasn't changed from when he went to lunch so he's still wearing the skinny jeans and sweater he had on earlier, but he's not sure what Alex has planned so he's a little worried and he’d like a little time to prepare mentally.

“But you look wonderful,” Alex says confusedly. “I mean, you always do but I just meant that your outfit looks fine.”

“Oh,” he notices that Alex is dressed similarly. “Alright.”

Alex smiles reassuringly, and once they put their coats on, Alex leads him down the familiar path to Sally's. It's not until they're almost at the door that John notices the 'CLOSED' sign.

“Wait, Alex, I think-”

“Everything's fine, Laurens.” He squeezes John's hand. “I promise.”

John knows in this moment that he would follow Alexander anywhere.

The door's unlocked and Alex seems so sure of what he's doing that some of his anxiety drains and that's when John notices that Sally's looks different.

Instead of the usual bright fluorescent lightbulbs, the place is lit with candles which gives the diner a warm glow. Alex leads him to the booth where their group always sits and John notices that the menu is different. Instead of the usual diner food offered, the menu has options like portobello pasta and some Latin food which makes him a bit excited. He knows the head chef is Cuban, but he's never tried any of her non-diner food. He's just about to ask Alex how he managed to set this up when Martha walks in, her outfit much nicer than her usual work uniform.

“Mr. Hamilton, Mr. Laurens,” she says with a proud smile. “Do you know what you'll be having tonight?”

They order their food, both choosing Latin options in a bout of homesickness, and Martha leaves.

“Alex, how did you...” He doesn't finish asking but Alex answers anyway.

“It wasn't too hard. Sally kinda loves our whole group, so when I pitched the idea, she was all for it.”

“How did you even know I'd say yes?” John asks, though he's grinning as he says it.

“Well… Sometimes, I would notice you staring at me and I sort of thought that my feelings were returned but I dismissed it as wishful thinking for a while. I didn't really let myself believe it until the day we had that argument. Since then, I've just been planning the best possible date because I could write an essay about anything and make it sound convincing. But I wish, by actions rather than words, to convince you that I love you.”

After a speech like that, John believes he is more than justified in reaching across the table and kissing the other man firmly despite the uncomfortable angle. It's a little intense for a first kiss, and definitely clumsy given John's inexperience, but Alex still clings to him like he couldn't be happier.

“I love you. God, of course I love you, Alexander,” he says against his lips before leaning in a second time. The kiss is a lot more gentle and careful this time around, and Alex hums contentedly.

When they part and return to their earlier positions, Alex holds John’s hand in his and Martha walks in with their food, making no attempts to hide her smirk and knowing look. They talk and eat, and for dessert, they share a slice of tres leches cake. They try to pay before Sally comes out of the kitchen looking offended by the thought that she would have them pay and insists that the meal was on the house until Alex and John accept.

They're walking back to the dorms, their hands clasped together, when John speaks.

“I can't believe you did all that for me,” he says quietly, and he feels warm despite the December chill.

“I thought about doing more,” Alex replies, watching him. John stops walking and turns to face him.

“I don't want more,” he says, moving his free hand to Alex's face and stroking his cheek softly. “I just want you.”

His breath catches at the smile Alex gives him when he leans up to kiss him.

“You already have me.”


End file.
